


Jagged Scars

by FracturedFairyTales



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Captivity, DNA mixing, F/M, I don't even know how to tage this, I suppose they'd be called hybreds?, M/M, Manipulation, Soulmates, Trust Issues, background character death(s), dirty Cerberus secrets, soul bonds, test subjects
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-30
Updated: 2012-12-05
Packaged: 2017-11-19 21:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/578050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FracturedFairyTales/pseuds/FracturedFairyTales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the knowledge that it's still there burns inside of her, fuelling her anger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just realized that while I may know how to pronounce their names, the ones who read this might not. So, this is just a How-To and you can skip this if you want to and figure the names out for yourself.
> 
> Also, I realize their names are a mouth full so I'll try to make it easy on you. Rlixt: the L in the name is silent, so you don't need to add it in when you're going to say his name. It's Rixt, which actually sounds a lot like Risk except with a hard T at the end instead of a K. Delmonti is just that, Del-Mon-Tee(I took it from the fruit box, *shifty eyes*) and Rousi has a full name, it's Rousselloti which is pronounced with a hard R like when you're going to do a mock mrrow or when a cat mrrows: Rows-Seh-Lot-Tee which is a real mouth full, I know but I like the name.
> 
> Which is also why Rlixt and Del call her Rousi which is pronounced Rowshi.

She refused to look at it. For years, she’s covered her wrist with something-her Omni-tool whenever she was let out, a bandage, hair bands, just anything she could get her hands on so she wouldn’t have to look at the name that belonged to the man who had never come.

She used to look at the name everyday, trace the letters and hope to whatever deity was out there that he would find her to take her away from this forsaken place.

To save her from the experiments that went on in here to not only herself but to her only family left, her brothers she was supposed to protect, and other test subjects Cerberus had nabbed from their homes. But he never came, and she was forced to endure the things the scientists and doctors would do to her for some kind of breakthrough. Had listened to the screams of the others as they were tested on for so called science.

She stopped shedding tears a long time ago over the injustice of it all, but as she presses a thumb to her wrist at where she knows his name is, she’s kind of glad that the scars from how many needles and knives they’ve taken to her skin has covered the name a little bit now.

Now she can barely make it out, but the knowledge that it’s still there burns inside of her, fuelling her anger for not only him for not saving her but for Cerberus because of what they‘ve done to her and her brothers.

The doctors have told her that they could bring the name back, that she’d be able to see the name Garrus on her wrist again but she always refused. Because even if she did meet him, the only thing scarier then losing him, she thinks as she stares at the scars and barely there letters, is that she might actually find him, or he might find her, only for them both to see that she doesn’t deserve him in the slightest because of the monster Cerberus turned her into.


	2. Chapter 2

When he was a child and he and Rousi looked at their names and would say something, he remembers her giving him a bright grin at the age of ten when he was only nine and saying, It’s the name of someone who will be with me forever, when the letters were finally beginning to take their own shape and become letters. Someone who will understand me. And he can’t help but think it would have been right, at such a young age.

He knows that some people like to say soul mate while others like to say other half, but it’s really all the same to Rlixt. Like everyone else, there was a name on his wrist telling him the name of his own life partner. It was neat and delicate, spelling out a name in a language he didn’t understand until one day, Rousi had looked at his wrist after learning all she could on the alien languages, writing and whatever else she had studied, telling him the name spelled out Tali in qurian, telling him that she would be his partner in many things.

But that was then, before Cerberus took them away from their home for experiments.

When he hears the scientists come over, talking to each other and talking about the Illusive Man’s plans and how he intends to send Rousi along with Shepard as a precaution-they all knew Shepard wasn’t as invincible as everyone liked to think-and help protect her, he shares a look with her through the glass wall they used to separate the three siblings when they were going to be taken out, a fear for their own health and a precaution as they had an incident that had happened when the three had tried to escape before.

Their youngest sibling, Delmonti on Rousi’s left and him on her right, the three tuning into their conversation with their advanced hearing from the tests.

Interest enters his eyes when he hears the name Tali’Zorah pass one red haired scientists lips as they start to unlock Rousi’s door, but froze when he noticed neither he nor Del were going to be released along with their sister.

“No!” Rousi roars, a snarl on her face and revealing her sharp fangs, six in total, as she easily tosses the two scientists away. “I’m not leaving them! You can’t make me leave them unprotected!” she cries, desperation in her eyes before she’s forcibly subdued by an appearance from the Illusive Man himself.

“Now, now, Ross. They’ll be perfectly taken care of while you’re gone,” there’s a malicious, evil shine in his eyes that he masks from everyone else as he stares Rousi down. “That is, if you cooperate.” he says easily, watching as Rousi stops instantly, a pleased look in his strange eyes and on his wicked face. “Because if you don’t cooperate, then we’ll just have to kill them, won’t we?” Rlixt watches as his older sister gazes at the ground for a long time before jerkily nodding her consent to the Illusive man.

The scientists, body guards and doctors all the while simply watched the exchange, afraid or respecting as Rousi complies with them as they lead her away to get ready for Shepard’s arrival and her departure.

He and Del stare down the hallway the Illusive Man went down and mourns the lost chance to kill him.

Shepard won’t realize he’s here, that he’d be right under her nose until they’re far enough away for him to leave and even if Shepard did, she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it because it would be the Illusive Man helping her in fighting the Reapers, and it was something he knew was more important then they were. Because if she stops them, then she saves millions of billions of lives, instead of the small number of ten of them that had survived the excruciating tests done on them.

Cerberus, everyone should know or suspect, is willing to do anything to further along humanity’s power and capabilities at any cost. Even if it meant mixing alien DNA with human DNA to try and have certain…abilities, he supposed the word was, that whatever species had and convert it so that a human could have it.

Needless to say, it was a success.

 

Kind of.

While the surviving ten, he and his siblings included, had successfully accepted the foreign DNA and started to show signs of whatever species they had been altered with, there were side affects that had all the doctors and scientists cringing and shying away from them all, the Illusive Man deeming them more of a failure then an actual success and proceeding to lock them up in a laboratory.

Rousi had grown claws, while the ‘fangs’ she had as a human grew in length and turned into actual fangs, four on the bottom and two on top. Her skin had also hardened, but while not being visible to the eye unless her skin caught the light in a certain way, there were scales much like a turians covering her body. The thing was, it was forcibly stopped before it could change her appearance any more so it was just her covered in the tan scales with speckles of sandy brown that replaced scars and freckles, and the strange thing was with her was the fact that she had been complaining about her jaw hurting, which had the scientist develop a ‘serum’ for her to stop whatever process was going on with her. And her eyes had changed, the white had turned to black and if seen incorrectly, her eyes could seem totally black instead of the stormy grey irises surrounded by black.

He, on the other hand, had been mixed with krogan DNA. So he towered over everyone in the facility, which frightened the staff even if he hadn’t lost his temper in a while now. But like all krogan, there was an itching underneath his skin, something telling him to start a fight or get into a battle because his blood called for the spilled blood of enemies. Which was the cause of his short temper, though he was getting better at controlling his anger now. And just like Rousi but unlike Rousi at the same time, he was covered in scales that the scientists had been scared of until it just seemed to stop and settle. His own grey eyes had turned catlike, to his delight.

Their little brother had drell DNA mixed inside him. So he was flexible, lean and fast, just like their older sister. And his skin had changed from tan to a forest green with hints of a blue-green here and there, slightly large eyes having turned into a drell’s strange ones not long after being given the DNA. He also lost his nails, since drell didn’t have any and it was painful to watch. Especially as he collapsed on his floor in pain as the changes happened to his body, crying and pleading for the change, the pain, to simply stop while he and Rousi were forced to watch helplessly as their little brother went through the ordeal alone. His own name on his wrist turning into a dark blue that blended into his new skin tones, only seen if it tilted just so, spelling the name Kolyat.

Rlixt wondered what Shepard would think of the things the Illusive Man did to them but pushed the thought aside. He needed to look after Del now, since Rousi was gone.

At least for the time being, anyways. Rousi always had a plan.


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone had names on their wrists, have since the beginning of every species. But that never stopped anyone from getting into relationships with people who weren’t their soul mates. And usually, he knows, the names are in messy writing, inky scrawls or delicate script and all languages, depending on your species, but his own kind of looked like scars in the shapes of letters, hardened scales turned purple-ish, crooked letters spelling out the name Rousselloti like his soul mate is screaming at him.

When he was younger, a part of him had wanted to wait but as the years passed and he graduated his school and applied for C-Sec, and spent a short amount of time frustrated when the strong black haired Spectre he followed to fight Saren who appeared to have no soul mate, his hopes had risen until he caught sight of her wrist spelling out Jeff in a messy scrawl.

He found himself frustrated at that as he thought, it should have been her, but the fact remained that Commander Shepard wasn’t his and would never be his.

But he didn’t let Shepard’s death afterwards or lack of soul mate distract him. Not everything revolved on the name on his wrist or finding her; because not long after she dies, he becomes a vigilante and a hero in the eyes of the people on Omega. He lets the need and want to try make Omega a better place take center stage from the name on his wrist, putting on another skin that makes him Archangel, in the form of a hell raising justice bringer that doesn’t bind him to aching for another person who’s not there by his side in sharing his short lived justice.

He used to think of his soul mate as a promise, but now that he’s grown and become stronger on his own, less naïve, he’s starting to feel like it’s something else entirely.

Which is one of the reasons why he always tells Shepard that he’s a bad turian. Because his people always looked for their soul mate, even if they did sleep with others, and he simply gave up. He always pretended that the name Rousselloti is nothing but a curious name and not a person that’s living and breathing, looking for him or waiting for him with his name, Garrus, written on her wrist.

He just doesn’t want to think about it. He has other things to worry about; like finding Sidonis and killing him for betraying them all, helping Shepard take down the Reaper threat. And technically being a part of Cerberus now, especially as they leave to go get a ‘special package’ the Illusive Man had told Shepard to get, simply saying that ‘she’d be a good asset to the team’ and leaving it at that. Not even Miranda and Jacob knew who they were going to go get, which made Shepard suspicious because the Illusive Man seemed to like the two of them.

And when they get there, they don’t exactly expect the covered-from-head-to-toe lithe frame of a female plus three doctors to greet them at the entrance to one of many Cerberus bases. Especially since they know everything about the person courtesy of the Illusive Man, but he hadn’t sent any information to them about this special package and so they were dealing with an unknown.

But when Shepard asked her questions and she responded quickly, quietly and robot-like, the dread in his stomach only got worse. Especially as she did nothing but follow the orders Shepard gave her and gave no inkling to understanding any one else.

“Ross.” is all they got when Shepard asked for the unknown female’s name and it made Shepard twitch, hand tightening on her submachine gun. “What kind of name is that?” Shepard’s voice translated to him, and they heard as ‘Ross’ gave an amused snort.

“Because no one can say my real name properly.” was her answer, leaving it at that on the subject.

He wondered, as they boarded the Normandy and heard EDI tell Ross where her room was located, telling her plus three doctors where the infirmary was and directing them to a room that would house the three of them, why this Ross female needed her own doctors and why, exactly, she covered herself in clothing and hid her identity away. It just wasn’t…something you expect, especially if they’re supposed to trust her. But Shepard told them all to let her get comfortable, reveal herself in her own time and so he reluctantly left her be.

But there was an itch under his skin that bugged him and never let him be, whenever he would see her.

It was...it felt like a…calling.


	4. Chapter 4

Leaving her family behind per Illusive Man's orders made her feel like her heart was breaking.

It's dripping icy cold throughout her ribcage, filling her with a hollow ache, an empty, gut wrenching ache. Like a piece of her is gone, just like the empty space where her soul mate was supposed to slot into is nothing but air. And the knowledge that her leaving is protecting her family, to a degree, isn't much of a comfort as it usually is.

She knows the Illusive Man's willing to do anything to get her cooperation, and threatening her with not only her blood brothers lives but the lives of the others she's come to view as family is something he would gladly and joyfully do if it makes her obedient.

It's numbing, mind crippling, consuming, just thinking about it. Thoughts of what if and maybe fill her head as she lets Shepard lead the way and has EDI show her the room the Illusive Man had installed for her-something she knew was because everyone who's seen her have called her a monster or refused to come into contact with her, let alone see her. And that just brings all her demons out from the darkest corners of her mind. It fills her restless mind as she slowly takes off the mask and pulls the hood down, making it useless to even try to sleep now.

And the demons only make things worse for her, making the evil thoughts that are plaguing her mind ache with sadness she's long grown accustomed to.

It makes it harder to forget the fact that the man on her wrist never came for her, that he's now in reaching distance and doesn't even seem to be looking for her. But she's learned to accept the blows of pain, of sadness that follows the knowledge because as long as she has a purpose, her family to protect, it was bearable and she had a mission to accomplish.

So that's what she'd focus on. Making sure her family is alive by listening to the Illusive Man-to an extent-and keeping Shepard alive, the whole reason she was sent along this suicide mission.

But the icy cold drops seem to be turning into ice as distance is put between her and the family she's protected for so long. And it makes her wonder for a second if her hearts been turned to glass or ice and smiles bitterly at the image. Her hearts already been shattered into a million pieces, but the metaphor sounds oddly…right.

The truth is still there though. She has a reason to live, for her family, because they all need her, all nine of them but she doesn't have a reason to live for herself. There's no soul mate on his way to save her, no one to love her like the love she witnessed between her parents before they died protecting her and her little brothers. He's right here and uncaring, perfectly fine while she's broken inside. The sad truth is, is that she had to toughen up and save herself, protect everyone around her because no one was going to help them, no one cared so she decided to become what they needed. A surviver, someone who would do anything to protect them all. A murderer, a killer.

A monster.

There was a saying she heard once, when two of the bodyguards had stood by to make sure she did nothing wrong or tried anything funny, they had said this one line that had stuck with her and made her laugh because it just didn't seem to have any truth to it at all. You have to go through Hell to get to Heaven. But she's already gone through Hell, many times, so where was her Heaven? Her lips twitched into a smirk, revealing sharp fangs that glinted menacingly in the dim lighting.

The Illusive Man knows she'd do anything for her family, and tries to use to it his advantage whenever possible. But the thing he doesn't know is the fact that while she's willing to give up a lot for her family and their safety, herself be damned, but she's also just as willing to betray him and get them out of the laboratory they've been forced to live in for years because of what he had done to them all.

It didn't matter what cost she'd have to pay to save them all because she would do, would give anything and everything. And if that meant gaining Shepard's loyalty or faith or whatever she had to get to have her aid Rousi in her plan to break into the lab to take back her family, then that's exactly what she's going to do. But the first thing she'd have to gain of Shepard before she can even plant the idea in Shepard's mind is to make her trust Rousi.

And getting that would be hard, especially since the Illusive Man would have told Shepard that Rousi was his and that she would be his special package, gift or peace offering in order to have Shepard be wary of her.

But once it was gone, once her family was finally safe from the Illusive Man's manipulative ways…

Well, she loves them all but once they were safe, if she needed to, she'll leave them just to protect them. She knows that the Illusive Man favoured her because she was the one who never hesitated in anything she was ordered to do, even when she had tried to kill him but got stopped by Kai Lang. So it'd only be reason, logic, if he chose to chase after her. And while she didn't want to leave them, she would because while she needed them, and they her, it would be for their safety.

So she'd let go, give them up. And she'd have whoever the Illusive Man sent chase after her and leave them alone, draw their attention away and give him exactly what he wants.

A challenge.

Because by the time that the Illusive Man realizes that it was her with the help of Shepard who had broken into his lab and stolen his 'prized failures', she would be long gone and Shepard's business with Cerberus would be finished, she had inside help for that. Infiltrating and getting out, she just wasn't sure how reliable the female doctor was with her friend, someone who helped guard the 'mistakes'.

Nothing would hurt and anger him more then realizing that while he had thought she was right in the palm of his hand, she never had been and he had been wrong all along.

She rolls her shoulders and feels glad that the people in the lab had given in and got her a humanized-hybredinized?-version of the quarian outfit, only with light armour added on. Like Hell she wanted to wear some bulky human version of turian armour. They didn't realize how heavy it was and she just didn't want to constantly use it when she's supposed to be an assassin, for the love of Spirits. Or anything Holy, she wasn't really religious, after all.

She let out a sigh and sat on a standard bed, something she was used to since it was the same type of bunk that they were given in the sterile cells that acted as their 'rooms'.

There was no doubt that EDI was probably spying on her for the Illusive Man, something that she knew happens every half an hour whenever she's let off the base to do certain missions he sends her on. Along with the crew he always sends to her, simply saying that 'no one needs to know about her…condition'. So her three accompanying companions were highly trained Doctors that had been with her since she had gone to the laboratory, who kind of trusted her but were too wary to fully trust her.

She wonders for a moment at their location before writing it off as having no importance. If they were needed, they'd be there but when they aren't, they're going to blend into the walls. And that wasn't something that bothered her, at least until something happens and then it's something that bothers her because she's expected to protect them as much as they're supposed to make sure she lives.

One of her family back in the laboratory had asked her once, how do you feel? which she didn't know how to answer because she was fine, but the question was different, there hadn't been a concern about her health in his eyes and it confused her.

You protect us so much, he had elaborated, long and graceful hands painted a brand new, asari pale blue gesturing to herself and then the doctors, but it just seems that sometimes the payment for it is too much. He had given her a frown, Sometimes, it looks like the payment for our protection leaves you empty and broken. He grabbed her hand, uncaring of the claws her nails had become and squeezed in comfort. So how do you feel? he asked again, expecting an answer that he could understand, one telling him her reason for doing what she does.

But the problem was, she hadn't known how to answer him properly. Sure, she protected them all, they were simply family to her and she wasn't about to let any harm come to them just because she didn't want any harm done to her. If anything, she'd rather take all their pain and sadness and loneliness away from them and take it for herself so they would only be happy and safe and loving but she couldn't do that, so she did the next best thing. She did what she was capable of. So she gives him a smile and squeezes his hand back in her own comfort for him. Sometimes, even if the price is too high, she had began and he saw the seriousness in her eyes, the deadliness and the extreme she would do for them. Sometimes, I just have to do it. I don't do it for myself, never for my own life so I make the deal, give the payment for your life, for everyone's lives. Because it's the right thing to do.

His frown deepens, Why? and she gives him a bittersweet smile, because whether or not anything happens to me, I'm just glad that you're all safe.

It wasn't what he had wanted to hear, but it was something he had accepted nonetheless.


	5. Chapter 5

“Is everything to your liking, Miss Rousselloti?”

She jerked at the sudden interruption, hand going to her magnum always close by before remembering that EDI was installed into the ship, an AI the Illusive Man insisted on and relaxed a little. She couldn’t exactly kill EDI from here, or with bullets, really. But her question was strange, no one had ever asked if she liked anything before, simply assuming she hated it, tolerated it or loved it, she was never outright asked but observed like she was a foreign animal.

So she didn’t know how to answer EDI’s question. She could remember when she was younger, before Cerberus happened, that she used to have a soft and comfy bed but it was far off, she couldn’t remember anything past that. It was just a memory, and the bunks that Cerberus had for them were standard military ones which weren’t really comfortable but good, something…durable.

“Everything’s fine, EDI,” she answers, feeling a little unsettled at the fact that an AI would be the first sentient thing to ask if she liked anything. “But please, call me Ross. Rousselloti will just confuse the others,” she added, grimacing at her mouthful of a name. Besides, she didn’t want her real name or nickname known to any of them, because despite the chances, Garrus might put the pieces together.

But seriously, this is her life where she finally finds the man-of course he‘s turian-who’s written on her wrist when she stopped believing he was even out there, or coming to save her.

Old, familiar anger surged up at the reminder. He’s having a perfectly semi-normal, dangerous life without any care to the name on his wrist. It looks like he didn’t even try to look for her and maybe that’s true, maybe it’s not but that didn’t stop her from feeling angry. Rousi had waited for him since she had been old enough to understand what the smudges on her wrist meant and then she got kidnapped, experimented on and hoped, prayed and wished even harder that he would find her and rescue her and her little brothers from the horror of what Cerberus had been doing and she had continued doing so until she was seventeen and just gave up. Because she had accepted the fact that he was never going to come for her, save her and she would have to save not only herself, but her newfound family.

So she started on the road to becoming exactly what the Illusive Man wanted for her.

She started weapons training so she could be of use to him, so he wouldn’t send out her family so much and have her see that they were never going to come back. She became his weapon, killing whoever he pointed at, an assassin for life, for survival.

She sold herself to the Illusive Man so her family would live.

“Affirmative, Miss Ross. EDI out.”

Rousi barely paid EDI any attention, simply glad she was alone again.

Just because Garrus was here on the Normandy didn’t mean she was going to drop all her plans for him. She’s come to far, gave up her whole life, to get to this point. To get the Illusive Man to trust her, to care for her, just so she could destroy the laboratory and free her family. It would crush him and she wasn’t about to let anything stop her. Not even Garrus. Besides, he didn’t seem to care or wonder, he didn’t give everything up to look for her. If anything, he ignored she even existed.

And she was going to do exactly that. She was going to ignore his existence, that they were born for each other and carry on with her carefully planned extraction, when the time came. For now, she’d bid her time and get Shepard’s trust, then she’d ask Shepard to help her with her plan, because she couldn’t do it alone and if Shepard refused…well, Rousi wasn’t above playing dirty.

It’s how she’s survived this long, after all.

xXxXx

She’s sealing her mask just as she leaves her designed room and isn’t surprised to see Garrus on his way down to Shepard for the mission they’re about to go on. The pull is there again, is whenever she see’s him but it’s easy for her to ignore, especially as they’re on their way to get the krogan Warlord, also known as Okeer and then she knows Shepard plans on going to go get Subject Zero, Jack. Though she’s not confident that the people guarding the giant jail is going to just let them walk away with Jack, something she had told her doctors and Chakwas before falling into step with Garrus. But right now they were going to go get Okeer, and they’d have to fight through krogan and Blue Suns to get to him, so it was only naturally that she tell the doctors to be on standby for when they return. 

She saw the unease Chakwas tried to hide from her, but she was trained to see every little twitch and categorize it away, like a drell can except that when they first told her what she was supposed to learn, it was hard training, but not impossible.

She understood it. Her mask unnerved people, which is why she wore it, why the Illusive Man had it designed. It was to scare, to make someone so uneasy that they’d be focusing on her mask and watch as the wave lines moved as she spoke in a dark monotone that was installed in the mask, instead of the bullet going through their head.

She could also see that her very presence was unnerving Garrus, making him suspicious and cautious when it came to her, something that she was glad for. Having him find her untrustworthy would help, it would mean that she’d only have to worry about Shepard’s help and trust, instead of anyone else’s.

And it wasn’t like she was going to take him with her when the time came. The people loyal to the Illusive Man might put two and two together and try to use him against her. Something she couldn’t let happen simply because Shepard would be with her. So she’d be forced to save Garrus, even if she would rather have him die so she could save her family. But Shepard would want to save him, would scream at Rousi and ask her why she wouldn’t save him and Rousi would have her hand forced.

So no, when the time came, she wasn’t going to allow Garrus to step foot inside the Cerberus lab.

Maybe she’d take Jack, since the biotic seemed to hate Cerberus so much, if not more then Rousi then just as much. Although Jack actually managed to escape, something she hadn’t been able to attempt in a long time.

Rousi nodded her greeting to Shepard when she received a hello just like Garrus.

It was something that confused her. She’d read everyone’s profiles, had seen that Shepard was accepting and kind, per say, but to this degree, where she’d treat Rousi with actual respect she hadn’t even earned, but hiding behind a mask that hid her suspicion and mistrust? How did that work?

She’d rather take knowing their true feelings, rather then have to see a mask and deep beneath the lies told to her to get to the truth, but she’s not going to object or call Shepard on her shit. She was going to go on pretending to be nothing more then the Illusive Man’s glorified bodyguard and assassin, then prove to them that she actually had feelings that she’d prefer to keep hidden.

“You know why we’re here. To recruit the krogan Warlord Okeer but he’s behind a whole lot of Blue Suns and we’re not sure if he’s being held hostage or if he’s here willingly but we’re here to get him for the mission…”

She knows, but Shepard draws on and on about the situation anyways. He and Jedore had struck a deal, in truth, he would create the krogans and she would have them, but she wasn’t strong enough to control them and so the tank born krogans went rabid and started attacking them instead. But Shepard didn’t know that, she just knew that she was here to recruit a krogan for the mission. And Rousi wasn’t too sure Okeer was going to make it out of this alive. But maybe he’d have something to compensate for them, the Reaper threat was real, after all.

Rousi rolled her eyes, silently cursing the Illusive Man for not telling Shepard the truth.

“You’re wrong.” Shepard and Garrus both jerked in surprise, seeing as how Rousi stays silent whenever she’s come out of her room. Garrus’ eyes narrow on her as Shepard gives her a calculating look. “How am I wrong?”

She sighed, feeling put upon. “The Illusive Man didn’t tell you the truth, obviously,” she muttered irritably. “Okeer and Jedore struck a deal. She gives him resources so he can create krogan and his rejects become hers while he tries to create his ‘perfect’ krogan,” she can see how much Shepard hated the robotic voice Rousi used but it was for her own protection, as well as a distraction tactic. “But his rejects are rejecting Jedore’s commands because she’s not strong enough to lead them, which is an obstacle, because we’re not only going to face Blue Suns but rabid krogan.” she idly cracked her knuckles on both hands, feeling an excitement well up inside her at the prospect of a fight.

“And how do you know this?” Garrus said, mandibles held tight to his face in obvious anger.

She tilted her head towards him, then looked at Shepard. “How do you think the Illusive Man get’s his information?” it was a valid question, and it wasn’t like he got off his chair to really do any work, seeing as how he had so much people to do his dirty work for him. “He snaps his fingers and it appears in his hands?” Shepard snorted, starting to get frustrated and giving Rousi a glare.

She rolled her eyes, glad that Shepard wouldn’t be able to hear or see the exasperation. Standing straighter, tensing her back and loathing what she is about to say, Rousi grimaces, “I am the Illusive Man’s weapon of choice, whether it be for assassination, being his bodyguard or gathering information for him. So it was only logical for him to choose me to gather the much needed information for him, so that you would have the best people the galaxy had to offer to defeat the Reaper threat and locate their hive. Which is also another reason why he sent me along to you as a peace offering, besides making sure you survive.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Shepard held up a hand as though to stop her from continuing on her explanation, though she hadn’t been about to. “A peace offering?” she sounded incredulous and horrified, thoughts most likely going to another word.

Master.

But no, the Illusive Man likes thinking he has Rousi in the palm of his hand too much, he’d never willingly give her up and it makes her annoyed, at Shepard, at him. “If you’re thinking he gave me to you so you can be my new Master,” even they could hear the sarcasm in her robotic voice this time and it made them cringe, “then you are sorely mistaken. He finds me too valuable to simply give me up, no matter the cost.”

There was new horror on Shepard face and Garrus’ mandibles had gone slack in surprise. She waited patiently as they processed the information, resigned to having them now sympathetic to her, if they felt that way. People were strange, feeling sad for her, pitying her but then there were the others who were disgusted by her without seeing her face, people who would rather not be seen with her because the Illusive Man favoured her so much.

“You’re his slave?”

Rousi resisted the urge to slap Shepard when she asked such a dumb question, instead, she decided to change subjects, they’ve wasted enough time already. Who knew what Jedore and Okeer were doing by this point and how many people they’d have to kill to get to Okeer in his lab. “Aren’t we supposed to be on a mission?” her tone is dry and it makes Shepard jump in remembrance. She’s going to have a morons help. Joy.

No, no, no, she could use the sympathy to her advantage. Her eyes lit in realization behind her mask as the idea begins to form. She could use the sympathy to have Shepard feel for her, to manipulate her into mistrusting Cerberus more by slowly telling her Rousi’s sob story.

Her eyes glinted as she begins to plan.


	6. Chapter 6

Was she a danger? Garrus wouldn’t doubt it, especially as she moved with lean, long-limbed grace on the battle field, not using her guns unless it was necessary for her, instead opting to use her whole body as a weapon, twisting and turning as she used her flexibility to her advantage, leaping and backtracking in fluid motions, swift and strong as bodies continue to pile up around her.

And in a dark sense, she was beautiful, dangerous and fear striking, an unknown, but still beautiful.

He can see why the Illusive Man would favour her, why he’d want her on missions he wants to see succeed. She’s just as deadly as the Illusive Man promised Shepard.

And when they move on, closer to Okeer’s location, she’s moving confidently, prowling ahead of them with no heed to Shepard’s warnings and taking the enemies head on, armoured as they are, crushing pieces of the robots who are shooting at them, putting herself in the line of fire and coming out unscathed. He can see her as a predator, and they are her prey.

He’s suddenly glad she’s on their side, instead of the opposite. Because if they had to fight her, it’d be one hell of a hard fight. But that still doesn’t shake off the feelings of mistrust she causes, especially with her little bit of info. She’s the Illusive Man’s favourite for a reason, but he doesn’t think it’s as simple as she made it seem. Ross is too confident, too soldier-like and obedient for it to be completely true. He can see a liar when he’s presented with one, and she’s been lying, or brushing subjects off ever since they‘ve meet her. She was avoiding the truth, or trying to, about herself.

She’s just too quiet, too calculating. She’s up to something, and he’s not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.

He heard what her plus three had said about her, calling her a monster, saying that she was dangerous and not to be trusted because while she’d protect you, she’d sooner sacrifice you for her own cause. They called her invincible, an outcast, inhuman because of who she is.

But it looked like she took their insults and wore it like a badge of honour. She took what they said about her and made it seem as true as it can possibly be but as he watches as a stray bullet whizzes on by her and catch her in the arm, he can’t help but think that she’s not as invincible as the three like to say she is.

But then he watches through his scope as she continues fighting as though nothing happened to her and thinks, maybe they’re right, maybe she’s almost invincible but everyone got tired, everyone started to feel after a while, after the adrenalin wore off and maybe Ross would be the same.

She’s savagery in précised control, and he wonders where the Illusive Man got her.

Then a horrible idea came to him, as he see’s turians and humans fall before her and their blood splatters, mixing and becoming a dark purple; what if he created her, forced her on the path that made her this way?

Before he could delve into the thoughts more, there’s a human Sun trying to sneak up on Ross’ back and she’s already dealing with two turians who dropped their weapons, finding it easier to fight her hand to hand instead of with their weapons so Garrus aims his sniper, waiting until the man is confident enough that he’s stopped bobbing and weaving before shooting, watching in disinterest as his head explodes and Ross barely paying the fallen body any mind, as though she had known he had her back.

As they finally get into the building, Garrus can’t help but notice how she lingers by bedsides, where the dead bodies of krogans lay, needles, tubes and bottles of medical supplies by each bed as though they were being experimented on or treated.

He can see there’s a story behind her mask, behind the skin tight leather and metal she wears even as she marches onward with them. He knows there are secrets she’s hiding, horrors she’s seen and done for the Illusive Man and wonders how someone could handle everything Cerberus does, how they can know the truth behind the appearance the Illusive Man tries to paint and still be with him.

But like before, a gut instinct is telling him that it’s not as simple as she played it as.

It’s obvious Ross is remembering something when her gloved hand lingers on the last bedside, stained with blood and other fluids before they finally leave and make it to Okeer. He watches from the corner of his eyes as Ross leaves Shepard’s side, as she slowly looks over the room and inspects every inch. Looking for any type of danger, being as cautious and paranoid as he had expected of her.

She’s suddenly over by the window, drawing his attention and he can see pods out there, filled with krogan, ten on each side of the room with a ten foot break in the middle of each ten. But more then that, he can see an older woman out there, black hair with grey at her temples, talking in her mic.

So this is Jedore, he thinks.

She’s older then she sounds, but she’s just as frustrated and angry as they all heard, shouting as she was through the speakers.

It’s not really a surprise when the doors lock on either side of them, nor does it seem to surprise Ross as poisonous gas starts to fill the room. But then again, nothing seems to really make her react, and she said she was the one to gather the information for the Illusive Man. 

Suddenly, she’s dangerous again as she breaks the console on the door for them, blocking their view all the while before Okeer reminds them why they needed to kill Jedore. And then they have no time to wonder how she broke it, instead of trying to hack it as they fight the krogan Jedore releases from the pods, as she starts to shoot rockets at them. But as the krogans die, as Jedore starts to get desperate and hysterical, a heavy mech activates and makes Shepard curse, only to hear Ross chuckle darkly.

Instead of coming after them, the heavy Mech is moving for Jedore as she screams at it and tries to run away from the unexpected attacker, desperately shooting and trying to run at the same time as the mech advances on her, shooting his own turrets. Shepard’s watching a little dumbly as Jedore finally dies and the heavy mech deactivates itself, shutting down and blowing up. Garrus is actually impressed with Ross’ work, at how she had obviously reprogrammed the mech in the off chance it was activated.

But when he’s turning to give her a compliment, or something, he see’s only her back as she’s already on her way to the door leading to Okeer and his perfect krogan held in the lab, where they had left him to finish whatever work he had been insistent on.

He hears Shepard’s questions for her, being naturally curious, and listens to Ross’ curt answers in that unsettling voice of hers.

He may not trust her, but he sure does admire her.


End file.
